Derived from the Portuguese barroco, or “oddly shaped pearl,” the term “baroque” has been widely used since the nineteenth century to describe the period in Western European art music from about 1600 to 1750. Comparing some of music history’s greatest masterpieces to a misshapen pearl might seem strange to us today, but to the nineteenth century critics who applied the term, the music of Bach and Handel’s era sounded overly ornamented and exaggerated. Having long since shed its derogatory connotations, “baroque” is now simply a convenient catch-all for one of the richest and most diverse periods in music history.
Characteristics of the Baroque Era: 1. Contrast as a dramatic element Contrast is an important ingredient in the drama of a baroque composition. The differences between loud and soft, solo and ensemble (as in the concerto), different instruments and timbres all play an important role in many baroque compositions. Composers also began to be more precise about instrumentation, often specifying the instruments on which a piece should be played instead of allowing the performer to choose. Brilliant instruments like the trumpet and violin also grew in popularity.
2. Monody: lyrical poem sung by one person In previous musical eras, a piece of music tended to consist of a single melody, perhaps with an improvised accompaniment, or several melodies played simultaneously. Not until the baroque period did the concept of “melody” and “harmony” truly begin to be articulated. As part of the effort to imitate ancient music, composers started focusing less on the complicated polyphony that dominated the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and more on a single voice with a simplified accompaniment, or monody. If music was a form of rhetoric, as the writings of the Greeks and Romans indicate, a powerful orator is necessary—and who better for the job than a vocal soloist? The new merger between the expression of feeling and the solo singer come through loud and clear in Monteverdi’s preface to the Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda from his Eighth Book of Madrigals (1638), in which he writes: “It has seemed to me that the chief passions or affections of our mind are three in number, namely anger, equanimity and humility. The best philosophers agree, and the very nature of our voice, with its high, low and middle ranges, would indicate as much.” The earliest operas are an excellent illustration of this new aesthetic.
3. Advent of the basso continuo Along with the emphasis on a single melody and bass line came the practice of basso continuo, a method of musical notation in which the melody and bass line are written out and the harmonic filler indicated in a type of shorthand. Because basso continuo, or thorough bass, remained standard practice until the end of the baroque period, the era is sometimes known as the “age of the thorough bass.”
Baroque Era Video: Link
More information on the Baroque Era: Link
Major Figures in the Baroque Era: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):Link
Cello Suite No. 1 in G: Link
Bach Inventions: Link Glenn Gould Plays Bach: Link
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741):Link
Four Seasons: Link
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767):Link
Sinfonia #1 for Flute: Link
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759):Link
Water Music: Link
Jean-Phillipppe Rameau (1683-1764):Link
Les Indes Galantes: Link
Henry Purcell (1659-1695):Link
Abdelazer Suite: Link
About the Baroque Era:
Derived from the Portuguese barroco, or “oddly shaped pearl,” the term “baroque” has been widely used since the nineteenth century to describe the period in Western European art music from about 1600 to 1750. Comparing some of music history’s greatest masterpieces to a misshapen pearl might seem strange to us today, but to the nineteenth century critics who applied the term, the music of Bach and Handel’s era sounded overly ornamented and exaggerated. Having long since shed its derogatory connotations, “baroque” is now simply a convenient catch-all for one of the richest and most diverse periods in music history.
Characteristics of the Baroque Era:
1. Contrast as a dramatic element
Contrast is an important ingredient in the drama of a baroque composition. The differences between loud and soft, solo and ensemble (as in the concerto), different instruments and timbres all play an important role in many baroque compositions. Composers also began to be more precise about instrumentation, often specifying the instruments on which a piece should be played instead of allowing the performer to choose. Brilliant instruments like the trumpet and violin also grew in popularity.
2. Monody: lyrical poem sung by one person
In previous musical eras, a piece of music tended to consist of a single melody, perhaps with an improvised accompaniment, or several melodies played simultaneously. Not until the baroque period did the concept of “melody” and “harmony” truly begin to be articulated. As part of the effort to imitate ancient music, composers started focusing less on the complicated polyphony that dominated the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and more on a single voice with a simplified accompaniment, or monody. If music was a form of rhetoric, as the writings of the Greeks and Romans indicate, a powerful orator is necessary—and who better for the job than a vocal soloist? The new merger between the expression of feeling and the solo singer come through loud and clear in Monteverdi’s preface to the Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda from his Eighth Book of Madrigals (1638), in which he writes: “It has seemed to me that the chief passions or affections of our mind are three in number, namely anger, equanimity and humility. The best philosophers agree, and the very nature of our voice, with its high, low and middle ranges, would indicate as much.” The earliest operas are an excellent illustration of this new aesthetic.
3. Advent of the basso continuo
Along with the emphasis on a single melody and bass line came the practice of basso continuo, a method of musical notation in which the melody and bass line are written out and the harmonic filler indicated in a type of shorthand. Because basso continuo, or thorough bass, remained standard practice until the end of the baroque period, the era is sometimes known as the “age of the thorough bass.”
Baroque Era Video: Link
More information on the Baroque Era: Link
Major Figures in the Baroque Era:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Link
Cello Suite No. 1 in G: Link
Bach Inventions: Link
Glenn Gould Plays Bach: Link
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Link
Four Seasons: Link
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): Link
Sinfonia #1 for Flute: Link
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): Link
Water Music: Link
Jean-Phillipppe Rameau (1683-1764): Link
Les Indes Galantes: Link
Henry Purcell (1659-1695): Link
Abdelazer Suite: Link